UK roundup: Latest retailer loyalty programme enhancement and price activity in convenience

Tesco expands Clubcard Points Partners to more than 500  

Tesco has expanded the number of Clubcard Points Partners from 13 to more than 500. The expansion means shoppers can now earn Clubcard points from brands such as Nike and Boden. Tesco is partnering with technology firm Valuedynamx to bring the new Clubcard Points Partner platform to the Tesco app. Shoppers will earn Clubcard points when accessing Points Partner’s online stores through the Clubcard section of the Tesco app. 

Senior Insight Analyst, Alex Rowberry’s view:

While loyalty remains the consumer-facing benefit, the strategic value of this expansion lies in engagement and data. Giving shoppers access to more than 500 Points Partners creates additional reasons to visit the Tesco app, increasing the frequency of customer interactions beyond grocery shopping missions. This not only provides Tesco with a broader view of shopper behaviour but also expands opportunities to monetise app traffic through retail media, personalised recommendations and supplier-funded activity. 

B&M and Lidl join the list of suitors for Poundland  

As the future of the variety discounter looks divided, more retailers are joining the race for a number of the over 500 locations around the UK. Poundstretcher’s owner, Fortress Investment Group, has also thrown its hat in the ring, though a management buyout also remains possible. 

Senior Insight Analyst, Michela Pearson’s view:

As the sale process progresses, it is apparent that the Poundland estate will not be acquired as a whole, and that locations will be split up between a number of different retailers. B&M’s stores are larger, and Poundland’s high-street locations would result in the usual assortment needing to be streamlined for a more compact offer. Lidl’s usual size would likely suit these stores better, although the stores would still likely not fit the traditional store plan.  

Morrisons upgrades More App with tailored weekly perks 

Morrisons has upgraded its More Card app, bringing greater personalisation in the form of six weekly offers tailored directly to users’ shopping habits. Shoppers will either gain access to percentage discounts or earn extra More Points, in what the retailer calls hyper-personalised offers. App useability has also been improved with a new Shopping List feature, which enables shoppers to add items to their shopping list by scanning product barcodes. Items are then displayed by aisle location for shopper’s local store.  

Senior Insight Analyst, Alex Rowberry’s view:

Hyper-personalised offers are becoming a baseline expectation in grocery loyalty. The bigger opportunity for Morrisons may be using personalisation and utility features to increase app engagement, creating more frequent customer touchpoints beyond the weekly shop. As shoppers spend more time within the retailer's digital ecosystem, Morrisons gains additional opportunities to influence purchase decisions, strengthen loyalty and build a richer understanding of customer behaviour. The addition of barcode scanning may appear a simple convenience feature, but it also has strategic value. By capturing the moment a shopper decides a product needs replacing, Morrisons potentially gains a more accurate understanding of consumption and replenishment patterns than transaction data alone can provide. 

One Stop launches ‘Prices Kept Low’ value campaign 

Faced with continuing headwinds for small store formats, Tesco convenience subsidiary One Stop has launched a new initiative reducing the gap to big store and discounter pricing on high frequency core grocery and top-up lines.  Built around a selection of 61 mainly private label products (but also including 18 branded lines) One Stop has reduced the price on 37 of them, while guaranteeing to hold the price on 24 others at the established low price.  Supported with a full suite of point-of-sale materials in-store, 40% of this range is now priced at less than £1. 

Insight Partner, Patrick Mitchell-Fox’s view:
The One Stop business has struggled for growth in the last few years, with both store numbers and like-for-like sales falling.  While collapsing tobacco sales have been the principal challenge to performance, the decline in related footfall has also been impacting other categories, especially as shoppers have become increasingly sensitive to the traditional price-premium charged in convenience stores.  In 2026 Tesco has sought to address this in its Tesco Express format with the extension of ‘Aldi Price Match’ activity across a limited number of lines.   This new ‘Prices Kept Low’ campaign now brings some of those prices (though not flagged as such), or near equivalents, into the One Stop format helping ensure that shoppers can get closely comparable value versus larger formats on their top-up basket. 

Iceland Foods helps older shoppers find £17m in unclaimed benefits   

Iceland has helped older shoppers discover £17m in unclaimed annual benefits from its Rothesay Foundation partnership on the Benefits Boost campaign. The Benefits Boost campaign, launched in June 2026, provided free benefits checks to 4,100 customers aged 66 and over. Of this number, over 70% were found to be missing out on financial benefits they may be entitled to. The Rothesay Foundation put £1.8m in to kick off the initiative and the average value of unclaimed benefits was £5,600 a year, with £4.2m already secured for customers. The scheme aims to support 7,500 Iceland customers in applying for unclaimed benefits, with the potential to uncover £37m.  

Analyst, Seth Russell‘s view: 

The Benefits Boost campaign shows how retailers can play a meaningful role in supporting older shoppers, a demographic relatively uncatered to. By helping these shoppers access financial support (which they are already entitled to), Iceland strengthens its trust in the community while also providing its shoppers more money which may potentially circulate back to the retailer.  

Waitrose launches gin and vodka made from its own crops

Waitrose have claimed a first, this time being the first to make spirits from crops grown on a UK supermarkets own farm. The retailer has launched gin and vodka grown in a single field at Waitrose Farm in Leckford. The wheat grown to produce the drinks was done so using regenerative practices, and so the bottles of gin and vodka carry Waitrose’s Championing Regenerative Farming logo. Around 30,000 bottles of the products have launched in over 200 Waitrose stores across the UK at a retail price of £25.  

Analyst, Seth Russell‘s view:

Waitrose again shows that sustainable practices can become commercial opportunities. Using regenerative farming credentials on a premium private-label product Waitrose creates a distinct differentiator, strengthens the brands and provides sustainability focussed shoppers more reasons to shop at Waitrose.  

 United Wholesale (Scotland) reports record turnover for 2025 

In its latest accounts posted with Companies House, for the year to 31 December 2025, United Wholesale (Scotland) recorded sales for the 12 months up by 15%, reaching £327m.  However, while gross margin improved slightly to 9.6%, rising costs had a impact on operating profit, which fell by 17.9% to £5.7m.  The rise in turnover was driven primarily by the acquisition of Time Wholesale Services in July 2025, which opens up a new market for UWS in southern England for the first time. 

Insight Partner, Patrick Mitchell-Fox’s view:

At a time when many leading wholesalers are facing significant market headwinds UWS is notable for its move to invest in expansion, adding a fourth depot to its estate.  UWS management reports that the former Time Wholesale Services depot in Rainham, east London has performed strongly since is acquisition with sales up 23%.  Going forward this site offers good access to an extensive customer base of independent retailers within the M25, though UWS faces a highly competitive wholesale landscape in the area.